


There's A Reason

by exprsslyfrbidden



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Clothes Sharing, F/F, Light Angst, Stargazing, harold.....
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-09-22 03:18:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9580232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exprsslyfrbidden/pseuds/exprsslyfrbidden
Summary: Somebody on tumblr noticed that Kara's coat looks suspiciously like the one a certain Luthor was wearing. Basically, a reimagining of all the ways this jacket could’ve ended up in Kara’s possession, ranging from the innocent to the not-so-innocent. Hit me up with more ideas!





	1. downpour

**Author's Note:**

> Based off this post https://calanna01.tumblr.com/post/156300272642/i-dont-know-what-the-purpose-of-this-post-is-but by calanna01 on tumblr.

They’re standing in the lobby of L-Corp when thunder snaps its whip and the sky breaks open.

“Wow,” Kara whispers, and she sounds more awed than disappointed at the massive rainstorm thundering outside. “That’s….it didn’t say it was going to rain today.” The sky is heavy with dark, bruised clouds, the rain creating a fine mist that blurs the world outside. Fat raindrops splatter onto the ground. the concrete darkens in a matter of seconds. As they watch, the people outside break out umbrellas and flip up hoods, several of the unprepared dashing for cover.

Lena gives Kara’s outfit an amused once-over. She’s wearing a decidedly not-waterproof baby blue sweater and a tan colored skirt that’s edging towards scandalous. Not that Lena’s been looking, or anything. It’s just that it’s shorter than the ones Kara usually wears. “I can have my driver take you home,” she offers, and Kara shakes her head quickly. 

“No, no, I’ll be fine. I’ll just take the bus.” She gives the rain another look, this one more skeptical. “If I’m late with this article Snapper will probably try to drown me, anyways.” 

Lena frowns, casting around the lobby for some sort of excuse. “Kara, I’m not letting you go out in that rain.” She waves to the secretary. “Jonathan, do you happen to have an extra umbrella?” 

“Let me check for you, Ms. Luthor.” He vanishes under his desk. 

Kara splutters, hands fluttering in the air. “Oh, no, Lena, it’s fine, it’s just a little rain—” 

“Kara, please, it’s a hurricane out there.” Lena digs out her phone to call her chaffeur.

Jonathan comes up empty. “Sorry, Ms. Luthor, no umbrellas.”

Kara pushes her glasses up. “Really, Lena, it’s fine. It’s just water.” She doesn’t know how else to explain that her suit is water-repellent or that she’s long since figured out how to dry clothes with her laser vision without burning them up. “I have a change of clothes at CatCo,” she adds hopefully. 

Lena worries her lip before deciding on something, finger hovering over her driver’s number on her phone. “Are you sure?” she asks, face scrunching up adorably. She hates the thought of sending Kara out into such a maelstrom when there’s a perfectly good way for her to get there without getting drenched.

“Yes, Lena. It’s just a little rain,” Kara reassures her. She has to admit, though, it really is storming outside. She can hear the wind howling even without using her heightened senses, and as they watch, some unfortunate soul outside has their umbrella ripped away. It vanishes into the storm. Lena winces. “I’ll be fine,” Kara repeats, less confident. 

“At least take my coat,” Lena insists, shrugging out of the tan trench coat. Kara’s already protesting, but Lena gives her A Look. “You can return it when we have lunch tomorrow.” 

Kara brightens at the implication, slipping her arms into Lena’s coat. It smells like her, a faint whiff of coffee and the lavender of her shampoo. “Thank you, Lena.” 

Lena’s smile is gentler than any Kara’s ever seen. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?” 

Kara grins bashfully, tucking the jacket around herself. “You can count on it.”


	2. overnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me if there are mistakes or anything cuz I posted this with the barest amount of editing ok cool thnx

It’s Lena’s second movie night, and Maggie’s first. So when Lena falls asleep on Kara’s shoulder, Alex doesn’t say anything. Maggie’s the one to bring it up, surreptitiously, in a whisper, in the kitchen.

“Does Kara know that she’s got it bad for that girl?” she asks Alex as they wash the plates. “Or that Lena’s got it bad for her?”

Alex glances over at Kara sharply. “What are you talking about?” Her eyebrows jump in a skeptical dance. “Kara? And Lena?”

Maggie turns to look at the two of them snuggled up on the couch. “It’s kind of obvious. Lena won’t touch anybody but Kara. And Kara….I haven’t known her for a long time, but she doesn’t even look at you like that.”

As they watch, Kara brushes hair out of Lena’s face, expression adoring. She tugs the blanket over them both carefully.

Alex breathes out a sigh. “I thought it was weird the first time Lena fell asleep on her shoulder. I guess that explains it.”

Maggie laughs quietly. “She’s done that before? That’s gay.”

Alex rolls her eyes. “ _You’re_ gay.”

“I can show you exactly how gay I am, babe,” Maggie wiggles her eyebrows. “Wanna head home?”

Alex stares at her for a moment before snapping back into it. “Uh….yes. Let’s, let’s go home.” They wave goodbye to Kara, shuffling out the door with quick glances and smiles.

Kara ponders Maggie’s words long after they’re gone. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but after hearing Lena’s name, it had been an automatic reaction.

"She doesn’t even look at _you_ like that."

What does that mean? She doesn’t look at Lena like...anything out of the ordinary. Her facial expressions are perfectly normal, thank you very much. And just because Lena’s closer to her physically doesn’t mean that she likes her. Kara hugs people all the time. These aren’t things that mean anything.

Do they?

She dismisses the thought when Lena moves in her sleep, curling into Kara’s arms with a satisfied sigh. It’s not important, she decides. What’s important is right here, in her arms.

The next morning is a bit messy and chaotic because Kara forgets to turn her alarm on (at least that’s what she tells Lena; the truth is in the crushed pieces of the alarm in the trash) and Lena has a meeting in the morning.

When she wakes up, Lena only apologizes twice for falling asleep on Kara; significantly less than the first time it had happened, which Kara counts as an improvement. This time Lena extricates herself from the nest of blankets wrapped around them far slower, with a longing in her movements that Kara recognizes in herself. It’s so hard to resist the urge to pull Lena back down and fall back asleep under her suffusing warmth, especially since they’re both late already….

“Oh no,” Lena stiffens, looking at the time. “I have a meeting in fifteen minutes.”

Kara digs up superhuman willpower and pushes Lena towards the bathroom. “Go, I’ll make breakfast.”

Lena shoots her a grateful look and Kara has to remember not to float up off the couch. As soon as the bathroom door is closed, she whooshes around the apartment faster than humanly possible, heating up the coffee with a quick blast of heat vision. By the time Lena’s out of the bathroom, Kara’s got toast and fruit on the table. “Be right there!” she calls, shooting into the bedroom. She hears rather than sees Lena’s tiny huff of laughter and the affectionate smile that lingers in her direction.

They rush out of Kara’s apartment in a disheveled, laughing clump, half-finished toast and scalding coffee clutched in their hands. Kara struggles to lock the door, Lena juggling both her and Kara’s coffee as well as their toast. Lena chuckles at the unruly mess that is Kara’s hair and the skewed slant of her glasses on her nose as she stuffs her keys in her pocket.

“Your glasses are crooked.”

Kara stops breathing, stops moving, swears her heart even stops when Lena reaches up to adjust her glasses. Emerald eyes pierce into her own, heart stoppingly clear.

She doesn’t know if she’s terrified Lena’s going to discover she’s Supergirl (Alex is right, glasses are a weak nothing in terms of disguise, darnit) or if she’s simply crippled by Lena’s close proximity.

Lena tilts her glasses and they settle on the bride of Kara’s nose. “There.” Lena smiles disarmingly and Kara’s heart kickstarts again in a painful flutter, like a baby bird learning how to fly.

“Thanks,” she mumbles. “We...uh, we should go.”

Neither of them move, staring at each other.

Lena remembers the time and jars back into reality, feeling slightly dizzy from Kara’s inquisitive gaze.

“...Right! let’s go.”

Kara walks into CatCo with an irrepressible smile, practically floating.

“Somebody had a good morning,” Winn comments, eyebrows raising at the smile on her face. “Lena stay over again?”

Kara shrugs, trying to bite back the smile that threatens to break out into a full-fledged grin. “Maybe she did.” She arches an eyebrow, crossing her arms. “What of it?”

“Kara. You’re practically walking on air.”

She does a quick double-take to check that she isn’t actually. “Ha ha. Funny, Winn.” Her phone buzzes and she springs for it.

[Lena]: Sorry to bother you, but I think I left my coat at your apartment?  
[Lena]: I’d appreciate if you could check when you got home, I think I left it on the couch  
[Kara]: yeah, sure! And it’s no problem, don’t worry about it :D  
[Kara]: I thought you had a meeting right now?  
[Lena]: I do, but there are two guys just shouting at each other right now and ignoring everybody else  
[Lena]: I could walk out right now and I doubt they’d notice

“Okay, yeah, who’s that? It’s got to be Lena or Alex.” Winn narrows his eyes at her. “Bet you lunch it’s Lena, Alex doesn’t make you giggle like that.”

Kara glances up distractedly. “What? Oh, yeah, Lena left her coat at my apartment.”

Winn fist pumps. “I was right! You owe me lunch.”

“...wait, what? No I don’t!”


	3. overnight, pt. ii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a continuation of chapter two, thanks to some inspiration from Chaseherchiss! Thanks, bro!  
> ["So, James gets back to town after being gone a few weeks and compliments Kara on her new coat. Without thinking she says, "it's Lena's, we overslept, and she left it at my place when we were rushing out this morning!"]  
> I took some creative liberties with it, hope that's okay :)

One article leads to another, one foiled robbery gives way to another attempted arson, and before Kara knows it, a week slips by. Lena’s coat is still hanging in her closet, a perfect excuse to go visit the no-doubt-overworked CEO, but between Snapper’s irritation at her for “clear bias towards Luthor” and a sudden uptick in alien-related crime, she’s too frazzled to do much of anything besides sleep and eat in her free time.

 

So oversleeping on Friday means she isn’t paying attention when she snags a jacket from her closet, practically inhales three slices of toast, and scrambles to get to Catco. It’s a dreary, windy day, with thin gray clouds hazy above the skyscrapers and a sharp chill in the air. A depressing morning, but made better by the fact that she had _finally_ finished a piece last night. That gives her a bit of a breather this morning to start on a new one, and then edit the old one after Snapper’s done tearing it apart.

 

The morning perks up even more when a familiar face greets her at her desk with a cup of coffee in his hand.

 

"James!" She crushes him in a hug. 

 

“Woah there, watch the coffee,” he warns, chuckling.

 

“Oh, right, sorry.” Kara quickly pulls back before the slightly mangled coffee cup becomes flattened. He sets it on her desk carefully. “I’m glad you’re back! How was Metropolis?”

 

He shrugs, and his broad smile sparks warm affection in Kara’s chest. She hadn’t realized till now how much she missed that warm smile over those few weeks. “Honestly? I’m convinced no one there knows how to make coffee the right way, except for Lois. And it’s kind of quiet, without you there.”

  
Kara squints at him, mock-offended. “What exactly are you trying to say, James?”

 

His smile crinkles the corners of his eyes. “I like your new jacket, by the way.” He motions to Kara, who pauses, about to chastise him for changing the subject.  

 

New jacket? She hasn’t —

 

She glances down. Tan, waterproof sleeves, double-row of sleek buttons — this is not her jacket. The laugh that comes out of her mouth must sound panicky and manic, because James’ smile turns into a puzzled frown.

 

“I, uh, yeah well — it’s not really mine, but — I mean, I haven’t had time — I woke up late and I wasn’t really paying attention, it’s all, uh, you know, I’m going to return it to her —” Her hands flutter from the lapels of the jacket to her glasses, and _fudge_ she must look like a crazy person because now James looks concerned.

 

“Kara…? I just said I liked it, not accused you of murdering somebody for it,” he laughs, faint worry in the lines of his face.

 

“Why does it look like Kara’s having an aneurysm?” Winn sidles over, interested. “Did you ask her about Lena?”

 

Kara’s eyes widen comically. “Winnbe _quiet_ Iwilleatallyourcandy—”

 

“What about Lena?” She does _not_ like the look on James’ face. That’s the look of somebody who knows more than they let on, an expression she’s all too familiar with due to Alex’s various facial expressions after inviting Lena to a night out without telling Kara. Seeing Lena in something that was decidedly _not_ business attire without previous mental preparation had been…. _interesting_ , to say the least.

 

But now James has that same look on his face, like a smirk is hiding underneath his skin. Winn glances between them, suspicious. “Wait a minute. That’s Lena’s jac—”

 

Kara’s voice jumps several decibels. “ _I grabbed it by accident!_ Seriously, it’s no big deal, I was going to return it to her later, I just didn’t have time this week, don’t tell Maggie though, she’s going to have a field day with it—”  

 

She gets two seconds of warning: James’ eyes catch on something behind her and widen, a shit-eating grin stretches across Winn’s face, and then —

 

“A field day with what, Kara?”

 

Words flee Kara for once this morning. “Uh, I, um, uh, er, uh….” Lena’s bemused smile is nothing but fondness and amusement as Kara flounders. “Good morning?” Kara finally squeaks out. She shoves her glasses further up her face, heat radiating off her flushed cheeks.

 

Lena can’t pass up a chance to tease Kara, especially not when she’s tongue-tied and pink-faced. _And_ wearing her coat. “That sounded like a question, Kara. Are you not happy to see me?” She tries to put on an offended face but a smile keeps breaking through.

 

Kara doesn’t seem to notice, though. “No, no no not at all! I’m always glad to see you, especially in the mornings. Well, really, any time is great, I love seeing you all the time and that sounds kind of weird, doesn’t it?”

 

Lena takes advantage of the temporary pause in rambling to stoke the fire of Kara’s blush. “Are you wearing my coat?” It’s like pouring water on a grease fire. Kara’s face turns even redder as her hands flail around uselessly. She can vaguely hear Winn mutter something along the lines of “in the dictionary, next to flustered”.

 

“I, um.” She feels a little bit like a fish gasping for water as she searches for some sort of excuse. “Yes?”

 

It’s too easy, working Kara up like this. It also helps that Lena knows the reason behind Kara’s high school-esque nerves, thanks to a little birdie who had also given her one of the more intimidating shovel talks she’s ever experienced. Leave it to Alex to convince her to ask Kara out and threaten to destroy everything she holds dear in the same breath.

 

Lena reaches over to smooth out one of the lapels. “It looks good on you.” It’s so very cliche and overused, but— by god, Kara’s face is so red. Is she getting proper blood circulation to anywhere else in her body?

 

“I was going to return it to you,” Kara explains quickly. “I overslept this morning and just grabbed it from my closet.” _Finally_. She’s remembered how to form normal sentences. She shrugs out of the jacket and hands it to Lena.

  
“Thank you, Kara.” She accepts the jacket and they smile at each other for a still, quiet moment. It’s always easier to forget about everything else when Kara’s in front of her, Lena muses. It’s like tunnel vision, but a good kind. _Love vision,_ her brain supplies, and that jerks her out of their soft staring contest.

 

Kara looks away, adjusting her glasses and hiding a smile.

 

“So, did you come here just for your, uh, coat?” Winn asks, wiggling his eyebrows. Lena resists a sigh. Apparently, everybody in Kara’s immediate friend circle is aware of her…. _feelings_ for Kara now.

 

Lena shoots Winn a look that she hopes comes across as “not now, James is here” and turns to Kara. “Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to go out to lunch today? Since I couldn’t do our usual last week.”

 

The way Kara brightens immediately reminds Lena of a puppy being offered treats after being scolded. “I’d love to! Any place in particular? Cuz there’s this new pho place that just opened down the street and Jess said it has some of the best pho she’s ever had.”

 

Lena wonders exactly how much time Kara spends waiting outside Lena’s office. “Sounds good, Kara. I’ll meet you at noon?”

 

“Yup! Can’t wait!” Kara hesitates, and Lena can see words balancing on the tip of her tongue, about to spill over —

 

A sharp voice rings out. “Danvers! Olsen! Schott! Am I paying you to stand around or to write?” All of them jump except for Lena, who finds it interesting to not be on the shouting side. Not that she actually shouts at her employees; if she did, they might faint. Cold, steely disappointment always works well for her.

 

“I should probably go,” she offers, and gets a murmur of agreement from all three of them.

 

“I’ll see you later.” Kara gives her a quick hug goodbye and waves until the elevator doors close. She stares after the elevator for a good few seconds, smiling dopily.

 

James and Winn exchange glances. “So. About Lena…?” James prompts, grinning.

 

Kara’s blush returns full force. She plops down at her desk, pulling out a sheaf of papers and firing up her computer. “I have work to do,” she declares, studiously avoiding both their gazes.

 

“Whatever you say, Kara.” Winn moves back to his desk, coughing something that sounds suspiciously that sounds like “ _whipped_ ”.

  
Kara gives him the benefit of the doubt on that one. But if she hears one more thing about “puppy dog Danvers” she _will_ eat all his snack food. 


	4. outage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a shorter one to tide you guys over while I'm working on some prompts.

__

It turns out that Lena’s list of things to do during a power outage starts with “beating Kara at chess ten times” and ends with “sex marathon”. 

 

They’ve just finished putting the pieces away when that devilish grin Kara’s come to know so well slinks across Lena’s face. “The lights are off already,” she explains, grin playing across her face. “It’s like the universe is just telling us to do it.”

 

Kara rolls her eyes good naturedly, pushing the chess board aside. “The universe doesn’t have to tell me to get you in bed,” she scoffs, heading for the bedroom. “And I would’ve won that last time, but you cheated.” 

 

“Distraction dirty talk is not cheating.”

 

Kara throws her hands up in the air. “It’s literally called ‘ _ distraction  _ dirty talk’!” 

 

Lena just shrugs enigmatically and pulls off her shirt. That’s enough to end that discussion (although next time they play chess, Kara makes it a rule that Lena’s not allowed to speak at all).

 

It also turns out that Lena isn’t all that tired after their two-hour sex marathon, because she manages to wrangle Kara into a tickle fight as soon as Kara returns from the bathroom and flops onto the mattress. 

 

Kara crumples up at the lightest touch of Lena’s fingers against her stomach and tumbles onto the bed ungracefully, giggling. “Ah, Rao, Lena—” Kara gasps, squirming away. She giggles and tries to grab Lena’s wrists. “This isn’t fair!” She squeals as Lena’s fingers poke her side, body twisting and arms flailing. She tries to retaliate but Lena scoots away, laughing. 

 

“Nothing’s fair in love and war, Kara—”  

 

_ Woomph _ . 

 

A moment of silence. Kara can barely make out Lena’s shocked expression in the shaded grey of the room. 

 

“Did you just hit me with a pillow?” 

 

Kara’s voice bubbles with restrained laughter and stilted innocence. “....of course not.” 

 

Lena grabs for her own pillow, a disbelieving laugh rumbling her chest. “Oh, you’re going  _ down _ .” 

 

She pulls back for a swing and clocks Kara in the side of the head, hard. Kara blinks, grinning devilishly. “Wow,” she remarks. “I think there’s a breeze in here, or something? Did you feel that?” 

 

Lena gapes, gasping with mock offense. “I don’t need your sass.” She dives for Kara and digs her fingers into her girlfriend’s sides, deftly dodging Kara’s flying feet. “I think this—” Kara whacks her arm with the pillow. “— is more effective than Kryptonite,” Lena gets out, laughing, between mouthfuls of pillow. 

 

Kara’s laughing too hard to respond, a writhing mess of giggling Kryptonian underneath Lena’s skilled fingers. “Oh, Rao—” she pants, prying Lena’s left hand away from her side. “Ah, Lena, uncle, uncle! I surrender!” 

 

Lena collapses on top of her, shoulders shaking. “Ha! Since you’ve surrendered, I’m claiming my prize.” Kara brushes hair out of Lena’s face, still giggling. 

 

“And what might that prize be?” 

 

“A kiss, of course.”

 

Kara’s too glad to oblige. Lena’s lips are curved in a smile and taste like darkness, her hands are loose and comforting under the fabric of her shirt, the weight of her body like the familiar safety of a heavy blanket in the wintertime. Her hair falls around them messily, smelling of flowers and a hint of Kara’s conditioner. Lena hums, pleased and happy and warm, and Kara lets a stolen laugh rasp in the air between them. 

 

“Lena,” she murmurs. Kara likes the sound of her name warbled and blunted between their mouths. It feels like a forbidden thing. 

 

“Yes, darling?” 

 

“I just wanted to say your name,” Kara admits. “Lena. Lena. Lena.” She mumbles it like a chant to the heavens. “You’re so beautiful.”

 

Lena’s smile is barely there but it curves through her lightly teasing words. “You can’t even see me right now, Kara. Your eyes are closed.”

 

“Oh, shush, don’t ruin the moment.” 

 

Lena laughs breathlessly, overcome with a golden feeling seeping through her bones. She wonders if this is what love feels like; she thought it would hurt more. 

 

It turns out that Lena isn’t the one ruining the moment. Kara’s phone vibrates and falls off the dresser the same time Lena’s starts chiming. They both groan. 

 

“The city probably needs saving,” Lena jokes, as she reluctantly clambers off of Kara and in search of her own phone. “People should just do what we did when the power went out.” 

 

Kara snickers into the blankets, casting an arm around to try and find her phone. “If I’m saving the city, what’s your excuse? Do people still have meetings in the dark?”

 

Lena curses quietly, more annoyed than anything. “The electrical company wants me to come down to the plant….something about the transformers being provided by L Corp.” 

 

Kara hums pensively, face thrown into stark shadow from her phone screen. “Alex wants me to go down with a few agents to the power plant, too. She thinks it’s part of a new evil plot.” She rolls over, blinking in the darkness. “At least we’re going to the same place.” A thought strikes her. “Aw. I left my suit at home.” 

 

Lena chuckles, using her phone flashlight to find her clothes. She picks up a pair of underwear and squints at it. “At least you can just fly over there. Are these mine or yours?” She tosses them to Kara. 

 

“Oh, these are mine. I ripped yours, remember?” 

 

“That reminds me, you owe me a new pair of underwear.” Lena pauses. “Wait, several pairs of underwear. You know, just go ahead and get a whole pack of them. Or get Kevlar ones.” A familiar light springs into her eyes. It’s the kind of light she gets when she’s talking nerd with Winn, or explaining some scientific thing to Alex. “What kind of material can you not rip through, anyways?”

 

Kara struggles into her jeans, laughing. “I can find some of the leftover material from my suit and get it to you. After we figure out how to get power back to the city.” Lena sighs, mind still whirling through all the possibilities.

 

“Right, that.”

 

Kara dresses quickly and zips back to her apartment to change into her suit. They arrive at the power plant together, Lena raking her fingers through her windswept hair as Kara sets her down on the pavement. Alex throws them a look but doesn’t comment; Maggie doesn’t have that same restraint. 

 

“Did we interrupt something, Little Danvers?” She jerks her chin at Lena, smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “Isn’t that your jacket?”

 

They both look over, surprised. “Oh.” Lena tugs on the lapel, as if she doesn’t believe it. “You must have mine.” 

 

Alex laughs. “Yeah, did you guys—” she stops short. Everyone looks at her. 

 

“Did we...what?” Kara asks, timidly. 

  
Alex face palms. “I...was going to ask if you got dressed in the dark.” Maggie snickers, and Lena hides a smile behind her hand. “....which you did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also, headcanon: Kara totally lets Lena beat her at chess, just because she likes hearing Lena try and distract her with dirty talk.


	5. alcohol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I got prompts about Kara spilling something on herself and Lena lending her the coat, but I got a little (hint: really) carried away and it's not even about the coat anymore.....whoops. Warning: it's a bit different in tone than the other ones.

Kara’s seen Lena’s social calendar before, and she has to admit that it rivals even her Netflix queue. 

 

A charity ball, press events, science conventions, grand openings, more galas, an elementary school visit, more press events, more parties — Lena’s got practically no weekdays free, much less weekends. Of course, she usually ends up sending Jess or somebody from her contingent of public relations people to cover for her, citing work (which was true 100% of the time before Kara; now it’s an even shot whether she’s actually working in her office or “working”). Her system of triage for the most important events is down to a science; private events are almost always attended if she’s personally invited, while dime-a-dozen networking events are left to her senior public relations people. 

 

Kara can almost predict if Lena’s going to show up at an event personally, which is why it’s a shock to get her text Friday evening. 

 

[Lena<3]: There’s a wine tasting tomorrow evening at 7:00, would you like to attend with me?

[Lena<3]: It’s very informal, and apparently I’m encouraged to bring arm candy

[Lena<3]: Obviously Winn couldn’t make it, but you were my second choice :P

 

Kara bites back a grin as she stirs the noodles she’s cooking, tapping the spoon and setting it down so she can text Lena back. It delights her to no end that Lena’s finally loosened up enough to text jokes like that. The Lena of a few months ago would have shuddered at the emoji, not to mention the joke itself. And Winn! There aren’t words to describe her joy at finding Lena and Winn both conked out on the workbench in the DEO’s garage, exhausted from a spontaneous partnership to fix some technological thing that Kara hadn’t quite understood. Seeing her friends accept Lena into the circle lifts the pressure she hadn’t known was there. 

 

[Kara]: Wow, only second string? I’m hurt :(

[Kara]: Wine tasting sounds cool tho, I’m down

[Kara]: Also I wasn’t aware I was arm candy :P

[Lena<3]: The sweetest kind.

[Lena<3]: You’re delicious ;)

 

Kara’s glad there’s nobody around at the moment because the choking noise she makes is possibly one of most undignified sounds to ever come from her mouth (and she once tried talking while chewing on four potstickers). She gives the pasta another stir as she recovers, contemplating her answer. 

 

[Kara]: What’s your favorite wine?

[Kara]: I bet it’d taste better if you licked it off of my body

 

Her face burns even as she types it. Reckless excitement sizzles at the edges of her veins as she hits send, biting her lip. Was that too forward? She and Lena have done worse, really, if you include the chocolate syrup incident….that might have turned both off them off anything related to food, though. She clicks the stove off, keeping an eye for Lena’s response. 

 

For a moment, those three tantalizing dots pop up on the screen, teasing her.

 

Then they vanish again. Kara resists the urge to fiddle with her utensils. Last time she had used her fork for nervous fidgeting, the utensil had ended up more closely resembling a meteorite than a fork. She shoves a bite of pasta in her mouth to distract herself. 

 

[Lena<3]: Honestly, I prefer whiskey. 

[Lena<3]: And I’m sure it would be delectable. As long as you get a tarp.

 

Kara chuckles to herself, reaching for her phone. 

 

[Kara]: Definitely!!

[Kara]: Whatcha doing?

 

She considers diving headfirst into the realm of sexting for a moment. She’s certainly in the right mood for it, and the thought of Lena licking whiskey off of her abs isn’t hurting. No, that’s not hurting at all. 

 

[Lena<3]: Reminding you that your article is due tonight and to not let me distract you :P

 

“Oh shoot darn it!” Kara scrambles to finish her dinner. Thank god for the non-horny, five-hours-ago version of her and that timely reminder. 

 

[Kara]: Fudge

[Kara]: Thanks tho I would’ve forgotten XD

[Lena<3]: Anytime, babe <3

[Kara]: <3

 

————————————— 

 

Lena comes over an hour before they go to the wine tasting for a quick dinner, an unplanned makeout session, and a rushed raid of Kara’s closet for something suitable for her to wear. She settles on a flowy white top and a pair of colorful pants, an outfit Ms. Grant would no doubt have rolled her eyes at. 

 

Lena doesn’t seem to mind; she looks Kara up and down appreciatively, hints of heat trailing in the wake of her gaze. Kara resists the urge to shudder under the corporeal phantom of her scrutiny.

 

“All set?” Kara asks brightly. If she explores the meaning behind the dark hue of Lena’s eyes like she so badly wants to, they’re going to be late, and she doesn’t want to explain why they both apparently have the sex drive of teenagers. 

 

Lena drags her gaze away, and Kara can see her the change in her eyes as she tucks away that haze of desire for a later time. Lena gestures to the door, lips curved at the corners. “After you.”

 

The wine tasting place is exactly how Kara imagined it and a wild surprise at the same time. They pass through an inconspicuous doorway painted in dark cherry and enter into a warmly lit, homely bar that looks like it belongs in a rustic cabin in the woods. A chandelier made from old lamps soldered together floats in the air above the room, lacquering the bleached wooden floorboards with rich orange sunset hues. Small clumps of people gather at the fringes of the room, where various bottles and glasses are arranged on the rough oak bar. The muffled hum of quiet conversation hovers at the edge of sensation. 

 

“Welcome, Ms. Luthor. Ms. Danvers.” A grizzly bear of a man greets them at the door, somehow pulling off a formal look with a bowtie over a lumberjack’s flannel shirt. “This way, please.” He guides them to the bar, where a placard denotes the type of wine and further information about it. “Enjoy.” He bows away and leaves them to their own devices. 

 

Kara glances to Lena for guidance, highly aware of her lack of experience with this sort of thing. “I just realized I have no idea what I’m doing,” she whispers, pretending to peruse the placard. 

 

The corner of Lena’s mouth quirks up. “So, normally, there’s usually an employee here to explain the wines and offer information, and you go around trying out the different wines. This obviously isn’t...normal.” She pours some of the wine into their glasses. “It’s a political event, really. The wine tasting is just a cover for the deals that go on here.” She’s barely whispering, quiet enough that a human would have to strain to hear. 

 

“So you’re here to meet people?” Kara murmurs, swilling the wine in her glass. “More business stuff?”

 

“Not quite. Usually Lex would go to these as to get some of the….less-than-legal things he needed.” 

 

Kara nods along, smile suddenly wooden. Her heart feels like it’s just relocated somewhere below her stomach with a single lurch. That’s….that’s not what  _ Lena’s  _ here for, is it? She can’t be. She wouldn’t invite Kara along if she were planning to do something “less-than-legal”. She wouldn’t. 

 

Her sister’s suspicious words echo in her head. “ _ She’s a Luthor. That means I don’t trust her. _ ” She sets the wine glass down before she crumbles it to dust. 

 

“I just recently received an invitation to this one, which means they think I might follow in my brother’s footsteps.” A disdainful sneer flickers across Lena’s face momentarily. “Clearly, nothing I do will get past my last name for these people. So I’m taking advantage of it.” 

 

Kara struggles to divine the meaning behind Lena’s words, still caught up on the choking fear of earlier. “You’re…. _ what _ ?” 

 

Lena takes a sip of the wine and swallows without even considering it. Shards of a grin twitch across her lips. “I’m infiltrating high society,” she murmurs, eyes bright. “Take down the people who were once Lex’s partners in crime.”

 

Okay, this might be worse. 

 

“I’m sorry,  _ what _ ?” Kara glances around sharply, downing her wine in a swift gulp as they drift to the next bottle. “You — what plan? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? This — what are you going to  _ do,  _ exactly?” 

 

Lena frowns, picking up the next bottle. Her gaze slides from the label to Kara’s incredulous stare. “Keep it down, Kara. I’m not James Bond-ing it or anything. This is just a reconnaissance mission.” She says “reconnaissance mission” with far too much zeal, which makes Kara suspect that she’s been drunk binge-watching spy movies again. 

 

“Well, I’m glad you’re not James Bond-ing it,” Kara mumbles dryly. “So what  _ is  _ the plan?” 

 

Lena’s eyes flick towards where most of the people have gathered. They’re standing around in clumps of three and four, and Kara finally notices who’s in the room. There are casually-dressed billionaires, rich playboys in graphic tees, magazine models in jeans and t-shirts. Demigods among men. She swallows. These are the sort of people she interviews, not the sort of people she goes to wine tastings with. 

 

“Tonight is a test. They want to make sure that I’m on their side.” As she speaks, a gang of men in button downs and polo shirts break off and move towards them. “Just follow my lead,” she breathes, and Kara tugs a bright smile onto her face as Lena walks forward to meet them.

 

They come to a standstill in front of each other, like warriors on opposite sides of a battlefield. Kara can feel the piercing gazes of the men as they evaluate her, the dangerous slant of their broad shoulders and the wordless threat in the delicate grip of their wine glasses. 

 

“Lena,” the oldest of them greets. He’s creeping towards elderly, spidery blue veins meandering across the backs of his hands and under the ornate rings weighing his fingers down. A feathery, snow-white moustache bristles underneath his nose. “We didn’t know if you were going to show.” He doesn’t give her time to respond, translucent eyes turning to Kara. “And who is this charming young lady?”

 

Kara feels Lena’s hand resting in the hollow of her back, and she suspects that it’s more for her own reassurance than Kara’s. “This is a good friend of mine, Kara Grant.” 

 

The name falls from her mouth far easier than she expected. Kara takes it well, covering her surprise by shaking the man’s frail hand. “Pleased to meet you. I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name…?” 

 

The man laughs, and the three behind him chuckle in support. “Lena, dear, is your friend new here?” His tone suggest that if the answer is anything but yes, offense will be taken. The room seems to cool around them. 

 

“She just moved here,” Lena explains. The brief second of eye contact that she makes tells Kara that things are not going well. “Kara, this is Ezequiel Fernandez.” 

 

Fernandez; Kara knows that name. He’s the council member responsible for proposing several borderline-discriminatory bills that have roused great public furor. She hadn’t recognized him in a worn college tee and jeans, but it’s no surprise to Kara that he’s involved in other shady activities as well. 

 

Before she can lie blatantly about liking the council member’s latest bill anti-alien bill, one of the men behind him speaks up. 

 

“How are things going with Luthor Corp, Lena?” 

 

Kara hates him immediately. There’s a frat-boy smirk on his face, bulging arms crossed in the classic pose of male dominance. The glint of purposeful cruelty flickers in his blue eyes, lips drawn back in that facsimile of a smile. Lena’s polite smile in return must take superhuman effort.    
  


“L Corp is recovering, Josef. No thanks to you.” 

 

Kara can tell from the incremental widening of Lena’s eyes that she hadn’t quite meant to say that last part, but the men facing them don’t care. 

 

“Excuse me?” Another man steps forward. He’s bony and lanky, face hollow. Despite the difference in build, he has the same arrogant, self-serving air about him. “We were partners with Lex, not his  _ sister. _ ” He attaches no adjective to the last word, but the dripping venom injected into his tone is more than enough. “You’ll have to earn our help.” 

 

Ezequiel interjects, wine glass dangling from his fingers. “Now, now.” Those clear eyes, brimming with faux paternal care, settle on Lena. “Damion is right, Lena. I’m afraid you’ll have to prove that you’re keeping true to Lex’s beliefs. We can never be too sure, you know.” 

 

To the men, it’s a sudden snap, like a lightning strike tearing through the black night. 

 

But to Kara, it’s a landslide, a collection of tiny pebbles gathering momentum, rumbling until the very earth breaks free. Lena’s shoulders tense upwards. Her hand tightens on her wine glass. The line of her jaw sharpens as she clenches her teeth. Then ice crackles into her eyes, searing cold. She draws herself taller, neck muscles flexing as she swallows. 

 

A single, delicate eyebrow arches up, a perfect tangential arc of calm fury. 

 

“I do know, Ezequiel. And I’m afraid you  _ have _ misjudged me.” Kara watches as her control slips just a little bit more, voice razor sharp. “It’s unfortunate that you’re all too absorbed in fucking other women and spending money to realize that the end of your little tyranny is coming.” 

 

The crisp words are thrown like knives. Silence seems to have fallen around them. Kara shifts closer to Lena, glancing around. There’s an exit in the back, and the door they came in — 

 

Bulky, suited men step in front of the exits.  _ Fudge.  _

 

Ezequiel looks calm. Josef is the opposite, barging through to tower over them both. “Who do you think you are?” he hisses, eyes squinting in rodent-like rage. “You may be a Luthor but that doesn’t mean you can go around insulting people. We’re  _ respectable  _ members of National City—”

 

“Oh,  _ shut up _ ,” Lena shoots back, rising to meet him. There’s a glint of glee in her sneer and Kara’s heart skips a breathless beat. “Don’t pretend like you’re not screwing the city over and wasting your money on designer drugs and hookers who wouldn’t touch you if it weren’t for your money—”

 

The familiar twitch warns Kara just in time. People always have a split second of a snarl on their faces right before violence starts, like the flash of the carnal breaking through. Her feet move before she can even think through it. 

 

Alex is going to  _ kill _ her for this. 

 

Josef swings, a tight swing upwards with the hand that still has a wine glass in it. There’s a crash, the melodic rush of breaking glass, the smell of bitter grapes in her nose. Her glasses are askew. Liquid drips off of her chin. There’s glass in her ear. 

 

His voice is strained, high and incredulous. “What the  _ fuck _ ?” 

 

Josef steps back, a foreshadowing of fear in his eyes, and Kara decks him. It’s a solid hit and she sees his eyes roll up in his head before he topples, a mighty sycamore of steroid-enhanced musculature and inflated masculinity. She grabs Lena’s hand and pulls her gently to the nearest exit. 

 

The bodyguard steps away from the door with no complaint.

 

They’re two blocks away when Lena stops, stumbling a little when Kara keeps moving. “Lena?” she looks back, concern in the lines of her face and wine soaking into her shirt. “We probably should get out of here, I don’t want them to—” 

 

A shard of glass cuts into Lena’s chin as she presses Kara up against the wall, mouth firm and wanting. Kara tastes of expensive wine and Lena’s fingertips, resting on Kara’s jaw, are wet with alcohol. “You,” she breathes, pulling away for a millisecond. “Are my _hero._ ”

 

Kara’s been listening to the streets around them for signs of pursuit, but the sweet liquor of Lena’s lips chase away all traces of the outside world. Her universe narrows from the sketchy night alleys around them to the circle of fizzing lamplight that gilds Lena’s hair in electric gold and the catch of rough brick against her back. All she can feel is the soft glide of Lena’s lips, the pads of her fingers on her skin, the wet cloth sticking to her skin as Lena presses closer…

 

“Lena,” she gasps, pulling back dizzily. She can feel the swirl of her crest against her skin, heart stuttering as Lena’s fingertips trail from her jaw and slip down, grazing the flex of her throat and dipping into the shadow of her collarbone. Her head is spinning. A heady mix of lust and adrenaline and anger and fear is dissolving the words she’s trying to say. “We should,” she tries, breath leaving her when dark emerald meets her gaze. “We, uh. Should….keep going. I —” 

 

Lena tilts back on her heels and her eyes flick down to the spreading wine stain on Kara’s shirt. The strange smile that turns up the corners of her lips is unlike any Kara’s ever seen before. “Darling,” she murmurs, reaching out to trace the “S” clearly visible through Kara’s shirt. “Your glasses are broken.” 

 

Kara gapes. 

 

There’s no sorrow on Lena’s face, only that small quirk of amusement on her mouth. No betrayal, no hatred or any of those unthinkable, all-too possible, emotions that Kara expects. Just a fond half-moon smile and the realization that Lena’s known, all this time. She’s  _ known _ . The words she spoke earlier echo in Kara’s ears: “ _ You are my hero. _ ” 

 

Lena reaches out and lifts Kara’s glasses, careful to not knock loose any more shards. Kara realizes they’ve been shattered beyond repair; she hadn’t even noticed. “Here.” She shrugs off her jacket and drapes it around Kara’s shoulders, tucking the glasses into the front of her own shirt. Kara stands still, lets Lena button up the coat until the wine-filtered crest is gone from sight. “You should really be more careful about letting people hit you, Kara.” 

 

The gentle lilt that accompanies the concern means that Lena’s teasing, but it brings Kara’s forgotten anger roaring back to life. “Wha— Lena, he was trying to hit you! I wasn’t going to stand around and do nothing!” She squares her shoulders, remembering her temporarily suspended disbelief. “I can’t believe you went and said all those things to him! I thought you said it was a reconnaissance mission?!” She splutters out a few more unintelligible words, hands fluttering around wildly. “You — what if I hadn’t been there? Oh, Rao, please don’t tell me you thought about going alone.” 

 

Lena shakes her head. To her credit, she does look chastised. “No. I knew you would protect me. And it was intended to be a reconnaissance mission. I’ll admit, I got a little….” She tilts her shoulders ambiguously. “Carried away.”

 

She’s still smiling like everything’s okay, which scares Kara a little. “Lena, you’re acting...strange. What….are you okay?” 

 

The smile flickers a little. “I’m fine, Kara.” Her arms twitch at her side, as if she wants to cross them over her chest. 

 

Kara’s eyebrows dip in uncertainty. “Lena, why did you want to go tonight?” 

 

Lena’s eyes jerk away from meeting her gaze. A lonely siren wails somewhere in the distance, the yowl of a cat mirroring the dissonant sound. A stiff breeze cuts across the street. Two cars pass by, wheels grinding silently on the shining asphalt. 

 

“I wanted to prove that I was different from my brother,” Lena whispers to the empty street. “I know what your sister thinks of me. And the rest of your friends. I thought, if —” Her voice breaks. “If I destroyed everything Lex ever touched, then they….” She takes a breath, shoulders squared. “It was reckless. I just got so—  _ excited,  _ at being able to do something for once. To do something tangible to prove that my last name doesn’t mean anything.” 

 

It’s times like these when “your last name doesn’t mean anything to me” feels empty, when Kara is at a loss for words because words can’t fix the scars of a lifetime. “Lena…” Kara’s fingers brush her bare shoulder and instead of pulling away, Lena slips willingly into Kara’s arms. “It’s unfair,” Kara mutters into Lena’s hair. “But you don’t have to do things like this to prove yourself. They should judge you on your own merits, not the legacy of your brother.” Lena doesn’t say anything, only presses closer, arms tight around Kara’s waist. “If they can’t see past your last name, then they don’t deserve to know you.” 

 

Kara resolves to talk to her sister again, and this time, she isn’t leaving until she convinces Alex that Lena is  _ nothing  _ like her family. 

 

“Thank you,” Lena breathes, pressing her lips to Kara’s neck. “For being here.”

 

“Anything for you,” Kara whispers back, and the utter  _ truth  _ of the words shakes her to the core. She means it, every word, and the soft awe in Lena’s eyes tells her that she knows. 

 

Who would have imagined it? That she would fall, the girl of steel, for a woman of porcelain and gold? That she would give anything,  _ everything,  _ to erase the hollow sorrow in those transcendent emerald eyes? She brushes unshed tears away from Lena’s cheeks. 

 

“Let’s go home.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you guys think? Is it out of character? I was on the fence about it cuz I originally planned something something completely different, and this seemed kind of serious in comparison to what I've written before. I somehow always end up writing things angsty even when I want to do the opposite. Tell me what you guys think, and what you wanna see in the future!


	6. ouranos

The only light in her apartment comes from the diffused red yellow of cars on the street far below, neon glow extending hesitant shadows from the tall windows. Colors dance outside the glass, swirling between advertisements and bright logos and the oil fire of the sunset. Inside the glass, darkness reigns, draining color and leaving the wide space monochrome and black. All she can see in front of her is the half-full tumbler on the counter, sparkling gems of brightness caught in the fractals of the glass. The amber liquid is still swaying lazily from side to side, sepia shadow swinging.

 

Lena always does this when she’s in a downswing. She gets home from work, and doesn’t turn the lights on. She takes a shower in the darkness. Changes into comfortable clothes, half-blind. Pours herself a glass of scotch by feel, leans against the counter, and contemplates how easily she could just run away in the gloom. The lack of illumination helps her, makes her feel less of the person in charge of some twisted family legacy and more like somebody mundane, who worries about bills and life insurance and car payments. An accountant, perhaps. Not seeing her over-modern apartment and the subtle undertones of money lets her feel transparent. Like she doesn’t quite exist at the moment, just a ghost enjoying an after-work drink. The cloak of shadow lets her feel like a part of the biomass, rather than the “intelligence above all”. One of Lex’s favorite phrases, used to describe the Luthors in comparison to the other 99 percent. 

 

Her lip curls in distaste and she reaches for the glass. She misjudges, her fingertips smash into the side, and it scoots across the counter jaggedly. Her heart races for the sharpest second before receding back into tranquility. The liquid sloshes dangerously but doesn’t spill. She remembers to breathe. 

 

She guides her hand with more care this time, fingers wrapping around the cool glass. 

 

A knock at the door and she jerks reflexively, heavy tumbler flying across the counter and smashing, frighteningly loud, on the textured wood tile. She doesn’t see the glass shatter as much as she sees the shadow, fracturing and tiny bits of it spraying across the floor. 

 

“Lena? Are you okay?” 

 

_ Kara.  _ Her voice is dim through the wood but the distinctive quality of concern identifies her. Nobody in Lena’s life is ever that worried about her well-being except for Kara Danvers. 

 

“I’m fine!” she calls. Speaking feels abnormal when the lights are still off; she claps and glowing ambience illuminates the room. She hurries to the door. 

 

Kara stands there, juggling a box of pizza and a bottle of Lena’s favorite pomegranate juice. “I heard something break, are you hurt?” Lena stares at her. Dark blue pants, gray sweater, new shoes from the last time they went shopping. Concerned wrinkle between her eyebrows, full lips pursed and cheeks red from the cold. The picture of perfection. 

 

Kara squeaks and the pizza box gets slightly bent out of shape between them as Lena moves close and presses her lips to Kara’s. It lasts a few seconds, because all of a sudden Lena’s starving. She tugs the pizza from Kara’s slack grasp. “Thanks,” she murmurs, already pulling back into the apartment with a teasing smile. Half-dazed, Kara follows out of magnetic habit. 

 

“Uh, yeah. No problem.” She sees the spray of shattered glass on the floor and steps fully back into reality. “What happened?” Already she’s moving across the floor to where she knows Lena keeps the broom. “Don’t come over here, I don’t want you to get cut.” 

 

Lena stands in the entryway and watches Kara bustle around, gently nudging pieces of glass into the dustpan. It feels disjointedly domestic. “You startled me,” Lena explains, and her own voice seems to be coming from somewhere else as she watches Kara.  _ I could live like this,  _ her brain realizes. Coming home to her —  _ wife? _ — and eating dinner together. “I forgot it was Friday.” 

 

Kara dumps the dustpan into the trash can, scouring the floor for any missed shards. “I was thinking we could go somewhere tonight? Not anything out with people, of course. It’s a surprise. I think you’ll like it.” 

 

Kara’s been thinking about this a lot, because she keeps glancing from her search for errant glass shards to Lena’s face, quick flashes to judge her reaction. Lena finds herself surprisingly eager to get out of her apartment. It still feels empty, impersonal, even with Kara’s sunshine to fill the cracks. “Yes,” she blurts. “Let’s go.” 

 

A smile breaks across Kara’s face and she abandons her search for glass. “Awesome!” The joy radiating from her face washes away the suffusing sadness of Lena’s darkness musings. Not gone; just dispelled, for the moment. “C’mon,” she enthuses, tugging Lena out of her apartment. Lena lets Kara pull her away. 

— — — —

Kara takes them out of the city. Lena eats pizza while she drives. They’re in a dated pickup truck that has “character” and also several broken suspensions, gliding along a winding road somewhere far beyond the city limits. Kara fills the silence with her unique brand of storytelling, making Lena laugh through mouthfuls of pizza. The cab is warm and the nighttime sky is glowing softly benevolent outside. Lena feels lighter than she has all week. 

 

“Are you kidnapping me?” Lena asks, fifteen minutes into the drive. She’s feeding Kara pizza now, fingers greasy and the air between them pleasantly tense. She feeds Kara a piece of crust, gaze heavy lidded as she follows the movements of Kara’s mouth. 

 

Kara chews and swallows before answering, eyes fixed on the road. If she looks at Lena now, she might never look away. “Not unless you want me to,” she offers. “We’re almost there.” 

 

“Where’s there?” 

 

Kara grins. “You’ll see.”

 

“Give me a hint,” Lena implores. She knows Kara means it when she says it’s a surprise, but can’t help but poke around for details. A bad habit from living with a family built on secrets. “What’s even out here, this far from the city? Cows?” 

 

Kara pulls off the paved road and the truck grumbles good-naturedly as the wheels find gravel. “City girl,” she teases. “Cows? I’m not taking you to a farm.” 

 

Lena squints at the lurking silhouette of a barn in the distance. “Are you sure?” 

 

Kara laughs and the truck lurches to a stop. She kills the engine and sudden silence oppresses their ears. She shares a enigmatic smile with Lena, and hops out of the car. 

 

Lena follows slower, glad she brought a jacket to combat the biting wind. It’s shaping up to be an unusually chilly October, and she can see her breath steaming in the blue air like a disgruntled dragon. “Did you bring me out here to kill me?” she jokes, stomping her feet. “If you were a serial killer, this would be the perfect setup.”

 

“Don’t be so morbid,” Kara laughs. She’s somewhere behind the truck, and Lena can hear her clambering around in the truck bed. “Come see.”

 

Lena rounds the truck and peers into the truck bed. Kara’s kneeling in the middle of a nest of blankets, arranging a few pillows. Lena squints at the setup for a few moments, trying to parse the meaning. “I don’t get it,” she admits, and Kara chuckles. 

 

“Come lie down.” 

 

Lena doesn’t hear any of the usual desire in Kara’s voice, so this isn’t a sexual thing. Still confused, she clambers onto the truck bed and gingerly arranges herself in the blankets next to Kara. Her face is upturned, noble silhouette outlined in darkness. She’s looking somewhere above them. Lena follows her gaze, bewildered, and finds — 

 

“Woah.” The gasp slips out of her, pulled by the inevitable magnetism of nature. Above them, diamonds are scattered across crushed blue velvet, stars glittering like the freckles of Ouranos. 

 

“Yeah,” Kara whispers. Her hand finds Lena’s and their fingers fit together. “There’s less light pollution out here,” she explains in a hushed voice, as if the heavens might hear them if she speaks too loud. “I come here if I get overwhelmed.”

 

They sink into a serene silence. The shallow hemisphere of deep navy sky stretches out forever, a bowl of ocean spread over them and bleeding into the vastness of space. Lena feels crazily small. Millions of lightyears away are whole other worlds, planets, stars with their own chronologies and versions of life, and viewed from earth, they’re nothing but pinpricks of light. Lena imagines that iconic picture of the earth from space, that little blue-green marble. Right now, she’s unseen in the grand scheme of things, a speck of dust on a speck of dust in the dust bunny of their galaxy. And where’s their galaxy? A molecule of matter thrown somewhere in the universe. Insignificance overwhelms her for a breathless second and she buries her face in Kara’s shoulder. 

 

Kara waits for her to speak, thumb rubbing soothing ellipses on the back of Lena’s hand. “Have you ever been in space?” she asks, voice vibrating through Kara’s collarbone. 

 

“I was trapped in space for a long time,” Kara murmurs, eyes searching the sky as if she’ll find answers. “I wasn’t conscious, but….the feeling of knowing how much time I lost…” A wistful smile replaces the frown crinkling her face. “But going up, just past the atmosphere….that’s different. It gets cold, so cold that I can feel it, and everything looks really….undefined. There are just,  _ blobs,  _ of human development, and huge swathes of green, and the ocean looks solid, like you could walk on it.” Her voice floats off, dreamy and soft at the edges. “If it’s nighttime, cities look like reflections of the night sky. Human constellations. The curve of the globe seems to go on forever, but if you look past it, past all the broken satellites floating around, you can see  _ nothing  _ in all directions.” She shivers and Lena presses closer, trying to imagine it. “When you’re up there, astronomy seems impossible. There’s so much  _ stuff  _ out there. Just, utter emptiness everywhere you look. There’s a million stars and a billion times that much nothing, and then when I look back down at Earth…” Lena can feel the displacement in the air as she smiles. “It makes me feel lucky, beyond belief. To have this planet, with all its complicated messes, out of the rest of the empty universe.”

 

Lena lifts her head, and sees unshed tears glimmering in Kara’s eyes. Abruptly, she’s filled with a hunger for knowledge. “What surprised you the most about Earth, when you first got here?” It’s a yearning to know everything and then some about Kara’s adjustments to her own home planet. She knows Kara misses Krypton like one pines for a missing limb, but she’s curious to see Kara’s perspective of Earth. She wants to know more, like when somebody starts a TV show she’s been invested in for years and she interrogates them on their opinions of characters she regards as family. A quirky sort of pride for her own planet urges her on. 

 

Kara hums contemplatively, tracing abstract lines on Lena’s arm. “The green. And honestly? How many things were manual. How you still used fossil fuels, how dirty it was. And analog, 2-D interfaces.” A nostalgic huff of laughter, a gust of condensed amusement hovering in the crystal air. “Back on Krypton, my version of playtime was getting to use a matter condenser, manipulating organic molecules to build nanoparticles. With the Danvers, Alex and I climbed trees.” Lena watches that memory etch itself in the lines of Kara’s face, which suddenly seems far older than her years. She gazes up, past the sky and into hazy, sun-bleached reminiscence. “She always accused me of cheating, by flying up and not really climbing. But it was either that or I’d break all the branches off on the way up.”

 

Lena tries to imagine a young Kara — rosy-cheeked, probably in Alex’s old jeans, with dirt on her hands, sun streaking her gold hair — running after her sister, snapping whole limbs off trees. Alex probably peering down from the very top, scowling when Kara glides to meet her. 

 

A mean wind cuts across the top of the trunk bed, whistling a tuneless song of desolation. Kara shivers against Lena’s side. It’s more at the implication of cold than the actual sensation of it; she doesn’t feel the moderate temperatures here as strongly as humans do. 

 

Lena squints up at the void, trying to find shape in it. “Where would Krypton be?” she asks. 

 

Kara takes their hands and points to an empty blotch of black, where nobody would ever notice a tiny pixel of light wink out. “There,” she says. “I used to look up at it all the time. For the first three years, light was still reaching Earth.” She lets their conjoined hands fall onto the blankets. Her voice feels disconnected, like somebody else is spilling these memories into the cold sky. “It went out one night, when Dad and I were watching the stars.” 

  
  


It was a brief flash. A slight increase in light, like somebody was adjusting the iris of a microscope to let more light in. And then gone. This time, forever. 

 

“I cried for days. Alex didn’t really understand ‘till later, but she held me at night. Jeremiah was the only one who really understood. He was the one who helped me find Krypton, when I arrived.” She takes Lena’s hand again and begins to trace out lines, mythological figures larger than life and arching across the heavens. Orion stands, proud and mighty, before her eyes. The Big Dipper. Perseus and Cassiopeia. “He taught me astronomy. I think it he was trying to make up for the loss of my planet, by giving me hundreds of new ones.” 

 

Her voice trembles at the end. With a start, Lena realizes Kara’s crying. Cool drops slide down her cheeks and into her hairline and this time it’s Lena’s turn to hold her. Kara’s face is buried in Lena’s chest like she wants there to be nothing in her world but Lena. 

 

Lena mumbles unintelligible sounds of comfort, stroking Kara’s hair. She feels torn between cluelessness at the concept of comforting somebody and inappropriate happiness — happiness at being needed, at being trusted with this gem of emotion. Kara composes herself far too quickly (when was the last time she had a good cry? Lena should advise her on that), sniffling and drying her tears with the sleeve of her sweater. “I’m sorry,” she whispers hoarsely. “I meant for this be a romantic thing, not for me to bawl my eyes out.” 

 

Of course Kara’s apologizing. Lena shakes her head vehemently. “No, don’t apologize. It’s good to let it out, instead of bottling it all up.” She presses a chaste kiss to Kara’s forehead. “And this — you telling me these things, opening up — that means more to me than any romantic gesture.”

 

Kara’s smile wobbles a little and pure affection shines in her eyes. She doesn’t say anything, just curls further into Lena’s embrace. 

 

They lie under the stars, and watch the heavens go by. 

— — — — 

Lena drives them home. Kara’s in the passenger seat, bundled up in Lena’s jacket. Her eyelids are drooping, knees pulled up to her chest and glasses sliding down her nose. Lena hums along to the classical piece playing softly on the radio and watches Kara fight sleep. The clock only blinks a few minutes after ten, but Kara had started yawning and Lena hadn’t wanted her to fall asleep in the middle of nowhere. Still, it looks like she might be asleep before they even get back to the city. 

 

“I don’t remember what my parents looked like,” Lena murmurs, and Kara’s eyes flicker open. A cool blue gaze caresses the side of Lena’s face. “I only have little bits of memory, like the smell of my father’s aftershave, or how my mother would always help me put on my shoes. I don’t even know how they died; the police station lost the files.” A wry smile curves across her lips. “I suspect that Lillian made it impossible for me to find anything on them. She was always very adamant about being my only mother, despite her many failings at acting like one.” 

 

She had written her memories down of her birth parents as soon as she could, hiding them in a pocket-sized notebook she had found at school. How her father used to swing her around and carry her on his broad shoulders. A blurry, bearded smile. Her mother’s gentle but firm voice. The notebook, so carefully stashed under her mattress, disappeared one day. She never asked about it. Lillian never said a word. 

 

“Lionel always tried to treat me like his daughter. He taught me the basics of mechanical engineering and helped me build a bike when I was in middle school. Lex never liked to get his hands dirty.” Lena remembers when he even paid goons to beat up people in high school. Always aloof, the mastermind behind the plan. But always soft and kind with his baby sister. Always gentle, understanding. “Lionel made me feel like I was the son he actually wanted, and for a while, things were perfect. Then Lex got a job, or something, and Lionel was gone. Like he was just playing around with me while Lex was growing up. I waited for that to happen to me. I did so well in high school that I beat Lex’s grades.” Her voice is steady, and her eyes dry. She’s already relived this millions of times in the darkness of her own mind. There are no more emotions attached. 

 

“After that, it never quite felt like home. Or it felt less than it already did. I was alone.” She catches Kara’s solemn gaze in the rearview mirror and fondness melts between her ribs. “You mean so much to me, Kara Danvers.” 

 

A smile blossoms, drowsy but genuine, on Kara’s face. “You’re not alone anymore,” she murmurs. “I won’t leave you.”

 

Lena reaches out and Kara’s hand slips into hers. Her words float softly on the warm air. “I know.” 

 

Kara tries to return her jacket when Lena drops her off, but Lena refuses. “Keep it,” she tells her, knowing full well Kara’s going to fall asleep smelling it. She can’t judge; she sleeps in Kara’s college sweatshirt. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” 

 

“Yeah.” Kara gives her a sloppy kiss through the window, eyes half-closed. “You’re sure you’ll be safe getting home?” 

 

Lena gives her another quick kiss, just for reassurance. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for tonight, Kara.” 

 

The corners of Kara’s eyes crinkle affectionately. “Always.”

 

Lena stops at a red light and looks up, past the concrete jungle and steel towers. She can make out just few of the brightest stars. “I love you, Kara,” she tells the moon, imagining that Kara can hear her. 

  
In her bedroom, Kara looks up at the stars. “I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I'm ignoring canon about Lena's mother cuz I bet you that bitch Lillian was just lying) 
> 
> What'd you guys think? I get the feeling I'm kinda slipping away from the whole "sharing clothes" thing, whoops...idk? Either way, I'd love more prompts to keep this thing going! 
> 
> follow me on tumblr @feveredreams


	7. joyride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> from @screwupscars' prompt! Thanks!

The faded blue light of the impending dawn wakes Kara.

 

Lena’s asleep by her side. She’s wrapped up in the bedsheets, arms tangled around Kara’s torso, fingertips resting on Kara’s skin. She must still be exhausted from yesterday’s trip to the boardwalk. The memory tugs the corners of Kara’s mouth upwards. A thrill of affection runs through her, a leftover of the lovesick adrenaline from kissing Lena at the top of the ferris wheel. She glances over at Lena’s messy hair, the pale, smooth marble of her skin and the pulse jumping in her throat. How did she get so lucky, finding such a woman in the midst of a planet of billions?

 

A faint ringing noise catches her attention and she cocks her head to the side. What on earth…?

 

She slips out of bed, plucks the closest shirt from the ground (it’s Lena’s, with the NASA logo on it) and pulls it over her head. 

 

They’re staying at Lena’s beach house for the summer. It’s a spacious lodge with more rooms than Kara can count and probably worth more than her entire life. The hallway she’s in right now stretches all the way through the house, pictures of various Luthor holdings and events with famous figures lining the light gray walls. The rooms she passes are all decorated like a furniture storeroom: fake, unrealistic, artificial. Kara wonders if Lena would let her redecorate. Or at least add some color; everything is in earth tones or cool colors, not a single red, green, or orange to be seen. 

 

(that might explain why Lena prefers Kara’s apartment to her own, or why Kara sometimes finds her wrapped in her cape while she’s watching TV)

 

She follows the ringing noise to the garage. She squints and casts around for the light switch. She flicks on the lights, blinking at the sterile brightness. 

 

The cavernous space is big enough for four cars, but it’s currently only occupied by an organized mess of mechanical parts and a workbench. The ringing is coming from an alarm clock — a sleek, futuristic circle of black metal with a glowing analog clock on the surface. It’s sitting amidst a clutter of tools and tiny parts, vibrating. Kara pokes at it. 

 

_ ~WAKE UP~ _ it shouts, like demonic Siri, and she jumps into the air. “Rao,” she mutters, snatching it and peering at the bottom for an off button. Finally, she locates a tiny reset button. It’s buzzing at the whole time, repeatedly telling her to wake up. She jabs at it with a paperclip from the workbench and blessed silence falls. 

 

She sighs and sets the alarm back down. Annoyance deactivated, she takes the opportunity to take a good look at the garage. During the preliminary tour, they’d only gotten through half the rooms before Lena had kissed her in the pantry and they’d gotten…. _distracted_ , so she hadn’t gotten a chance to see the garage. Kara pads around the concrete on silent feet, looking at the precariously balanced stacks of unfinished prototypes and mechanisms. She picks out a dissected car engine, half of an electron scanning microscope, and a miniature replica of….a nuclear power plant? 

 

Some of this stuff is old, coated in a thick fur of dust. Some of it has less dust, but it doesn’t look like Lena’s been here in quite a while. Kara spots a tarp-covered shape hulking in the corner and she heads for it, curiosity piqued. There’s a jacket draped across the top and she grabs it. 

 

A leather jacket. Lena’s? Kara feels the smooth, worn material between her fingers and smells the faintest hint of lavender — yes, definitely Lena’s. She’s awake now, the gears of her mind catching and gradually turning wheels of thought. 

 

Lena’s leather jacket. 

Lena, in a leather jacket. 

 

Mmm, that's hot. She blinks and holds it up. Lena’s always much...smaller than Kara expects, probably because she exudes such an aura of power that her stature is forgotten. But it definitely looks like Kara could fit, even with her broad shoulders…

 

She slips it on. The sleeves are tight, which is to be expected, and the bottom is just the tiniest bit too short, but other than that, it fits surprisingly well. Kara sticks her hands in the pockets, trying to imagine Lena wearing it. A few months ago that mental image would have been difficult, but now that Kara’s seen Lena in a Superman onesie, anything goes. A thought strikes her. What if Lena had a teenage punk phase? After all, she has all those ear piercings and Kara  _ knows  _ about that tattoo….

 

The image of Lena with an undercut, dark eyeshadow and a leather jacket on is both hilarious and appealing. If there’s a leather jacket, Kara bets that there are aviators around her somewhere….

 

The sound of bare feet outside the door warns her a moment before Lena opens it. “Good morning,” she yawns. Her gaze falls on Kara and her eyes crinkle. “Is that my jacket?” 

 

Kara pauses, like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “Um. Yes?” 

 

Lena laughs, eyes brightening. “It looks good on you.” She shivers at the cold concrete, hopping a little on her feet. "You could totally be the leader of a biker gang." There's that familiar twinkle in her eye again, the one that appears right before she suggests something like "I wanna lick whipped cream off your abs" or "I'm going to make you scream". 

Kara shivers slightly under her gaze. "I'll keep that in mind if I ever need a new job."

 

"It is a bit small, though." Lena reaches out to fix the collar, fingers fiddling with the buttons. “Serves you right, for being so damn buff,” she mutters, and Kara giggles. 

 

“You say that as if you don’t appreciate my muscles.” 

 

“Oh, I do.” Lena moves forward, letting Kara’s arms encircle her. She tucks her head under Kara’s chin. Kara’s always so warm. It’s like her own personal space heater. “Your arms should be the eighth wonder of the world. But it also means we can’t share all our clothes like stereotypical lesbians.” She sighs, as if grievously wounded. “How else are you going to show off to the rest of the world that you’re dating Lena Luthor?” 

 

Kara snickers. “I’m wearing your shirt right now,” she points out. Her tone turns sultry, suggestive. “And if you wanted the world to know, we could just open your balcony door when I’m ‘interviewing’ you.” Oh, that’s not fair and Kara knows it. Lena can hear the grin in her voice. “I never figured you were a screamer.” 

 

Lena grumbles into Kara’s shoulder, squirming in her arms. “Shut up.” Her face is burning. It’s not her fault Kara’s an actual  _ superhero  _ with the super skills to go with it. “It’s your fault, anyways.”

 

Kara hums, rocking back and forth on her heels. “Oh, my bad. So no more ‘interviews’?” 

 

Lena pouts up at Kara. “That’s not what I meant and you know it,” she huffs, faux-annoyed. She hugs Kara tighter, the leather between them warm on her cheek. “Would you like to see my motorcycle?”   
  


Kara looks perplexed. “Is that….an innuendo?” 

 

Lena laughs. “No, darling, it’s right there.” 

 

Ah, the tarp-covered thing in the corner. Kara makes to separate, but Lena clings to her. “Carry me,” she mumbles playfully. “I’m tired.”

 

Kara lifts her into the air easily, bridal style, as she walks over. “Of course, Miss Luthor,” she jokes, copying the deferential tone of her chaffeur. “Anything you want.”

 

“Mmm, is that right?” Lena smiles against her neck. “Down, please.”

 

Kara chuckles as she sets Lena back down on her feet. “I can do sit and roll over, too,” she quips. “Want to play fetch?” 

 

“Hilarious,” Lena deadpans. She turns and reaches up to run her fingers through Kara’s hair, nails scratching lightly at her scalp. Kara leans into her touch. Lena’s hooded gaze swirls with heat. “You’d look good begging, though.” She doesn’t give Kara time to react to that, just turns back around and pulls the tarp off of her motorcycle. It’s a predatory jet black chopper, long and chromic. “I haven’t ridden in ages,” she remarks, as if Kara isn’t spluttering and crimson-faced behind her. 

 

“I, uh, didn’t know you rode,” Kara manages, face still flushed. She reaches for her non-existent glasses and has to resort to pushing her hair behind her ear instead. “That’s a nice bike.” An opportunity to strike back presents itself and she jumps at it. “It’d look even better with you bent over it.”

 

Lena inhales sharply, stopping in the middle of inspecting the handlebars. “Fuck, Kara,” she breathes, looking stricken. “It’s too early in the morning for me to be this turned on.”

 

Kara makes a face of disagreement. “It’s  _ never _ too early to be turned on.” She points at the workbench. “Plus, it was your Tron alarm clock that woke me up." She pouts. "It yelled at me.”

 

Lena frowns, then realizes what Kara’s pointing at. “Oh, that?” She huffs, amused. “I didn’t know it still worked. I guess I forgot to turn it off last time I was here.” She runs her fingers over the seat of the motorcycle distractedly. “I used to fall asleep working, so I built that to make sure I woke up in time.” She pats the seat of the motorcycle, eyes sparkling. “Wanna go for a ride?” Kara’s stomach growls discontentedly in response. Lena chuckles. “After breakfast, then.”

 

Kara scarfs down a plate of pancakes, four eggs, and two bananas, washing it down with orange juice. Lena eats two pancakes and an orange. “You’re insatiable,” she remarks, slightly amazed. “Are you allowed into buffets?” 

 

Kara looks guilty as she washes the plates. “Depends,” she evades. Lena waits. Kara mumbles quietly, “In certain areas, I’m banned from Golden Corral.” 

 

Lena tries to hide her guffaw in her coffee mug. “Really? You ate so much that they banned you?” 

 

Kara’s face scrunches up. “Well. Not really? It wasn’t the regular food as much as the unlimited chocolate fountain…” She waves her hand airily. “It’s not important. We should get dressed.” She’s still wearing Lena’s leather jacket. 

 

Lena narrows her eyes, but lets her change the topic. “All right. But I want to hear how you got banned from Golden Corral later.” Kara pouts. “Or I can ask Alex—” 

 

“Okay, jeez, I’ll tell you.” Kara’s laughing, though, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. “Such a Slytherin.”

 

Lena raises her eyebrow, following Kara out of the kitchen. “Scared, Danvers?” 

 

Kara grins back at her, delighted. “You wish.”

 

The sun’s peeking above the treeline by the time they finish getting dressed. Kara’s still in Lena’s NASA t-shirt, but Lena’s reclaimed her jacket. She looks as grunge as Kara imagined with her combat boots, ripped jeans, and aviators perched on her face. “You look hot,” Kara tells her girlfriend.

 

“Why, thank you.” Lena smirks and plucks the keys from the rack on the wall. She swings her leg over the motorcycle and turns the key. The engine shudders to life, purring. She glances at Kara and chuckles. “You look like a dork.”

 

Kara giggles and presses a quick kiss to Lena’s lips. “It’s your shirt, nerd.”

 

“Mmm, but I’m  _ your _ nerd.” Lena tilts her head up for another kiss and Kara obliges, smiling. “Get behind me.”

 

Kara does, wrapping her arms around Lena’s waist. A beat passes. “That’s what she said,” she mutters under her breath. 

 

Lena rolls her eyes. “I wish Maggie had never taught you that,” she grouses. “It’s like hearing an adolescent boy in sex ed.” 

 

“I’m offended,” Kara gasps. “Also, you set that one up perfectly for me, so.” 

 

Lena grins and revs the engine. “Wanna go for a ride?” 

 

Kara presses closer to Lena, smirking. “That’s what she sa-”

 

The bike leaps out of the garage like a panther, tires leaving black smudges smeared on the floor. Kara clutches Lena’s waist like it’s a life preserver. They veer down the driveway, speeding down the road within seconds. 

 

“Holy shit!” Lena laughs, the wind whipping the words wildly from her mouth. The road zips by and the tree line becomes nothing but a dark green blur, the engine droning excitedly. “I forgot how fun this was!” she exclaims. Kara squints, Lena’s hair whipping in her face. 

 

“Maybe you should slow down!” she shouts over the wind. The speed limit sign flies by, and Kara gets the distinctive feeling that Lena speeds up when she passes it. “Lena!”

 

She does, but slowly, with her hand lingering on the throttle. “Better?” Well, they’re only twenty above now. 

 

“...Better!” Twenty above is better than thirty, she supposes. 

 

Thick forest fades to shrubbery and then to grassy dunes, the sky opening up clear above them. The wind turns salty, grit flying in their eyes. The motorcycle purrs contentedly. Kara feels drowsiness creep up on her, head resting on Lena’s shoulder. She could fall asleep like this, cradled in fresh sunlight and the reassurance of Lena’s body in front of her. For a while, she tries to appreciate the scenery, but it’s a losing battle. Nature is nothing when Lena’s pressed up against her front, raw horsepower thrumming between her legs.

 

She’s trying to blink the sluggishness away when they begin to slow down. She perks up. They’re heading away from the main road and down an unpaved trail, the bike wheels grinding through the packed sand. She doesn’t ask. Lena has a habit of surprising her in the best ways, and she trusts that they won’t get into  _ too _ much trouble. 

 

The motorcycle rumbles to a stop outside a little wooden pagoda in the middle of the dunes, hidden on all sides by windswept hills of sand. When Lena kills the engine, the silence that falls is shocking. “Where are we?” Kara stumbles off the bike, legs unexpectedly jelly-like. Lena chuckles, leaning against the bike. 

 

“Alone.”

 

Oh, Kara knows that smile like the back of her hand. That’s the kinky smile, the one that means “let’s have a quickie in the bathroom before my press conference so you forget all your questions”, the one that means “let’s play a game of how long I can act irritatingly sexy until Kara snaps and takes me on the couch in my office”. She’s familiar with this smile. She should’ve seen it coming, really. There’s nothing like good vibrations for a few miles to really get her motor going. 

 

“Now who’s the adolescent boy?” she teases, hands on her hips. 

 

Lena shrugs, sun glinting off her aviators. Her grin is toothy. “Kiss me.” 

 

How can Kara say no? 

 

Lena laughs breathlessly into the kiss, hands coming up to tangle in Kara’s hair. She likes having Kara in her hands like this — able to pull her closer, able to try and convey the irresistibility of her desire through physical touch — and Kara knows it. She presses eagerly against Lena’s body. Her own hands are resting on Lena’s hips, thumbs rubbing electric circles on the skin just above the waistband of Lena’s jeans. “You make me feel so lucky,” Lena murmurs against Kara’s mouth. “Nobody else gets to make out with Supergirl.”

 

Kara grins and bumps noses with her. “Mmm, is that all I’m good for? Making out?” She shifts forward and the motorcycle creaks. Lena ignores it, because Kara’s lifting her onto the seat and trailing wet kisses down her neck and she doesn’t have much brainpower to focus on anything else. 

 

“Fuck….you’re good at this, too,” Lena groans, wrapping her legs around Kara’s waist. “I like the idea….of me being the only who can have you. That you chose me. Out of everybody else.” Kara looks up from scattering kisses across Lena’s collarbones, pure tenderness glowing across her face.

 

“I don’t think there’s anybody else I would have — could have — chosen,” Kara murmurs, arms wrapping around Lena’s torso. “You’re one-of-a-kind, Lena Luthor.” 

  
  


“That’s cheesy,” Lena snorts, but there’s a smile tickling the corners of her lips. “You know, before we started dating, I always imagined you would be really romantic.”

 

“Really?” Kara’s intrigued. That doesn’t stop her from pressing kisses to every inch of bare skin — which there’s not enough of, in her opinion. “Take this off,” she mutters, fingers smoothing over the leather. 

 

“Pushy,” Lena remarks, but lets the jacket slip from her shoulders. “You were always so chivalrous, as Kara and as Supergirl. I thought you’d be the one bringing flowers and planning candlelit dinners.” 

 

Kara frowns up at her, perplexed. “I have done both those things.”

 

“Yes, but that doesn’t go with this whole vibe,” Lena explains, waving at their current situation. “You, pressing me up against the motorcycle, being all commanding.” She bites her lip. “I doubt many people imagine that you’re such a dominant top.” 

 

“What? Why?” Kara splutters. “I’m dominant! Who says I’m not?” 

 

“Um, the fact that you cry over puppy videos.” 

 

Kara’s voice rises. “O _ kay  _ they were very cute and one just fell  _ down the stairs,  _ Lena, it was an emotional moment _ —”  _

 

Lena giggles, tapping the tip of Kara’s nose. “You’re tearing up,” she teases, and Kara blinks furiously. 

 

“Am not!” 

 

She tugs Lena’s shirt up and blows a raspberry against her stomach, sending Lena into convulsions of laughter. “ _ Ah ohmygod Kara don’t — _ ”  __ Something tips the balance. Kara’s laughing too much to notice until Lena shrieks. The motorcycle topples over with both of them leaning against it, arms flailing — 

 

—and then they’re floating in the air ten feet above the ground. Kara’s arms are wrapped around Lena’s waist, Lena’s legs dangling in space. “That was close," Kara sighs . She can hear Lena's heart stuttering along nervously. They both look down at the motorcycle lying on its side.

 

“Okay,” Lena mutters. “So I guess that means no sex on the bike?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for those of you who are not familiar with the splendiferous bounty of American buffets, Golden Corral is one of the more prevalent chains, and has an endless chocolate fountain of diabetes. It's pretty great. I have no doubt that Kara would be kicked out. 
> 
> (if anybody would like to draw Kara wearing a leather jacket I am DOWN because hot damn)
> 
> give me more prompts to butcher! are we even talking about jackets anymore???? who knows!! 
> 
> Comment to give these two fools a sturdier surface to get down and dirty ;)

**Author's Note:**

> I had a bunch of ideas for this at first but then as soon as I started writing they all disappeared. Gimme some prompts because there's no end to how these two dorks will get themselves into situations like these.


End file.
